NASA sets its sights on the moon

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NASA hopes to return astronauts to the moon by 2018, nearly a
half-century after men last walked the lunar surface, by using a
distinctly retro combination of space shuttle and Apollo rocket
parts.

The space agency has presented its lunar exploration plan to the
White House and on Capitol Hill. An announcement is set for this
week at NASA headquarters in Washington.

That this successor to the soon-to-be-retired shuttle relies so
heavily on old-time equipment, rather than sporting fancy
futuristic designs, "makes good technological and management
sense", said John Logsdon, director of George Washington
University's space policy institute.

"The emphasis is on achieving goals rather than elegance," said
Logsdon, who along with other members of the Columbia Accident
Investigation Board urged NASA to move beyond the risky, ageing
shuttles as soon as possible.

"It has several elements to it. One is to say that the people
who did Apollo were pretty smart," Logsdon said Friday. Depending
on advanced, unproven technology would slow everything down and
raise the costs, which will be high anyway, he noted.

The crew exploration vehicle's first manned trip will be to
low-earth orbit, probably no earlier than 2012, leaving up to a
two-year gap between the last shuttle flight and the debut of its
successor.

In January last year, just five months after the Columbia
accident board's report, President George W Bush called for the
retirement of the space shuttles by 2010 and the creation of the
crew exploration vehicle for ferrying astronauts to the
international space station and ultimately to the moon and
Mars.

His main overriding goal: to land astronauts on the moon by
2020.

In a speech at a California aerospace conference a few weeks
ago, NASA Administrator Michael Griffin said the new spacecraft
will build upon the proven designs and technologies used in the
Apollo moon and shuttle programs - "while having far greater
capability".

There would be two rockets, one for astronauts and their
exploration vehicle and the other for cargo, the propulsion system
and the lunar lander.

The idea would be to launch the crew exploration vehicle on the
smaller of the new rockets, which would still be taller than the
56-metre shuttle. The crew vehicle would be perched on top like an
old-style Apollo capsule.

Once in orbit around the Earth, the capsule would hook up with
the lunar lander and moon-propelling rocket parts launched
separately on a much bigger rocket closer in height to Apollo's
111-metre) Saturn 5, and take off for the moon.

These new rockets would consist of space shuttle booster
rockets, engines and fuel tanks, with the payload - human or
not - always on top for a safer ride. They also would use some
of the same type of Saturn 5 engines that propelled astronauts to
the moon.

Using shuttle parts will ease the work force transition between
the two programs, Logsdon said, and require no major rebuilding of
the Kennedy Space Centre launch site.

In his speech, Griffin spoke of a system that will take four
astronauts to the surface of the moon - rather than the
two-man landing teams of Apollo - and allow them to remain
there a full week instead of just a few days. Longer stays and a
real outpost would follow.

The crew exploration vehicle would circle the moon, unoccupied,
until the crew's return from the lunar surface, via the lander, for
the ride back to earth. During Apollo, one man remained behind in
the moon-orbiting command module.

"Going well beyond Apollo, we seek the ability to land and
conduct exploration activities anywhere on the moon, including on
the far side or in the polar regions," Griffin said.

Astronauts last visited the moon in December 1972.

Mars as a human destination takes a back seat in NASA's plans,
which is sure to irritate on-to-Mars advocates. Space officials
insist a lunar program involves crucial groundwork for Mars
expeditions. But as Logsdon noted: "If you don't have money to go
to the moon before 2018, you sure as hell don't have money to go to
Mars."

One lingering question, and concern, among lawmakers is how much
all this will cost. The rebuilding of the Gulf Coast in the wake of
Hurricane Katrina is sure to intrude on all aspects of government
spending.

"The fact that it comes at a particularly inopportune moment is
unfortunate, but either we are serious about long-term commitments
like this or not. Nobody is asking for more money," Logsdon said.
"Apollo was done as a warlike mobilisation of national resources
and there's no reason to do that now."

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